This Sprawling Indiana Asian Market Packs A Kitchen And A Huge Grocery Under One Roof

The plan was to be in and out. Forty minutes later, the cart was still moving.

Somewhere between the ramen shelves and the freezer cases, the grocery list had stopped being useful.

There were sauces worth investigating, jasmine rice stacked in enormous bags, greens that rarely appear in an ordinary supermarket, and enough unfamiliar packages to make every aisle feel like a little discovery.

Then the smell of fried rice and fresh spring rolls started drifting from the kitchen, followed by the sight of boba drinks being made nearby. Having a market like this in Indiana turns a simple food run into something much more entertaining.

The best part is that there is no need to know exactly what to buy. Curiosity does most of the work.

A Grocery Floor That Rewards Slow Wandering

Shelves stretch further than expected here, and that first lap around the store rarely covers everything. The building once held furniture, which explains the generous floor space now filled with food from across Asia.

Ramen lovers tend to stall out in one aisle for a while. Spicy Buldak packets sit near comforting Mama noodles, and nearby shelves hold soy sauces, chili pastes, curry bases, and dumpling dipping sauces in dozens of variations.

Products arrive from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and India, so a single cart can hold ingredients for four different dinners. Bags of Thai jasmine rice get hauled out by the armload, often in sizes that regular supermarkets never stock.

Snack hunting is half the fun. White Rabbit creamy candy, lychee hard candies, aloe vera drinks, and shrimp chips all make appearances, and shoppers who grew up eating these things often find childhood favorites they had given up on locating in Indiana.

The layout stays clean and organized, which helps when hunting for something specific. Shelves are grouped in a way that makes browsing easy rather than overwhelming.

Practical tip for first timers: leave extra time. Rushing through means missing the frozen paratha, the shu mai, and the odd surprise like frozen dried crickets sitting quietly in a case, waiting for someone brave.

Produce Bins Stocked With Greens You Cannot Find Elsewhere

Home cooks chasing a specific recipe usually head straight for the produce section, and for good reason. Gai lan, rau muong, Thai basil, and fresh bean sprouts show up regularly, which turns an ambitious recipe into something actually doable on a weeknight.

Mushrooms deserve a mention too. Fresh varieties sit beside dried ones, and the dried selection alone can carry a soup broth to a completely different level of depth.

Fruit is where things get playful. Persimmons, lychees, and other seasonal finds rotate through, and plenty of shoppers pick up something they have never tasted just to see what happens.

Prices tend to stay reasonable, which matters when buying herbs by the bunch rather than in tiny plastic clamshells. Scallions, ginger, and chilies cost little enough that experimenting feels low risk.

Fresh fish and seafood share the same corner of the store, along with a wide range of pork cuts. Cooks after pork shoulder, pork belly, or something more specific for a traditional dish usually find it here.

One small detail that regulars mention often: the staff know the products well and will happily point out what something is or how it gets used. Asking a question is genuinely welcome, especially for anyone standing frozen in front of an unfamiliar green.

The Kitchen Hiding Behind The Groceries

Toward the back, past the sauces and the rice, a counter sends out plates of food that people drive across county lines for. The kitchen operates as its own small operation inside the larger store, and it changes the whole nature of a visit.

Fried rice comes out in portions that stretch into a second meal. Orange chicken, sesame chicken, and beef with broccoli anchor the familiar side of things, while dishes like larb and papaya salad prepared Laos style speak to a deeper menu.

Shrimp spring rolls have developed a following, and they turn up in conversation constantly among people who shop here often. Banh mi is another popular grab for anyone wanting something portable.

Pho gets ordered year round, though it hits hardest during an Indiana winter. Warm steamed buns, filled with BBQ pork or vegetables, work well for a quick bite mid shop.

A hot bar handles the fastest option, with affordable three item meal boxes that come with rice and soup. Great for lunch on a tight schedule.

Worth knowing before showing up hungry: the kitchen keeps its own opening time, later than the store itself, so calling ahead saves a little guesswork. Ordering takeout and eating in the car is a perfectly respectable move here.

Boba Drinks Worth The Drive On Their Own

Some people walk in for rice and leave with a bubble tea instead. The boba selection here has quietly become one of the main reasons locals keep coming back, and it holds up against dedicated tea shops.

Popping boba gets singled out often, those small fruit filled spheres that burst rather than chew. Classic tapioca pearls are available too, sitting at the bottom of milk teas in satisfying heaps.

Flavor options cover a good spread, from milky and sweet to bright and fruity. Ordering one while browsing the aisles is a solid strategy, since shopping goes better with something cold in hand.

For families passing through Elkhart, this ends up being the easy win. Kids who might not care about dried mushrooms will absolutely care about a taro milk tea.

Prices land in friendly territory, so a round for the whole group does not sting.

There is something charming about grabbing a drink made to order in the same building where the tea powders and syrups sit on a shelf a few steps away. Shoppers who fall in love with a flavor can often buy the ingredients and try recreating it at home, which turns one visit into an ongoing project.

Mango sticky rice makes a fine companion for anyone chasing dessert alongside the drink.

Owners Who Send Guests Home With Extra Fruit

Kindness shows up in small, unexpected gestures at this store, and one in particular gets mentioned again and again. An older gentleman working the counter has a habit of tucking free fruit into orders after checkout, no occasion required.

Lychees, persimmons, whatever happens to be good that week. For a first time visitor, receiving a piece of fruit they have never tried before is a memorable little sendoff.

Beyond the fruit, the general atmosphere leans warm rather than transactional. Staff answer questions patiently, help locate obscure ingredients, and stay relaxed when things go sideways at the register.

The owners clearly enjoy what they do, and it shows in how the shelves are kept and how customers get treated. That energy carries through the building.

People who feel unsure about Asian cooking often mention leaving with more confidence than they arrived with. Asking about a sauce or a noodle usually leads to a real explanation, sometimes a suggestion for how to cook it.

Repeat visitors describe the place as inviting, which is not a word most grocery stores earn. It is the sort of spot where a cashier might remember a face from a few weeks back.

Small business hospitality like this is exactly why word of mouth keeps carrying this market’s reputation across northern Indiana.

Easy To Reach, Easy To Park, Easy To Love

Getting here takes almost no effort, which matters more than it sounds. The market sits right off US 20, so travelers already on the highway barely have to detour.

Parking is straightforward, with room to pull in without circling. That alone separates it from cramped urban markets where the shopping starts with a fifteen minute hunt for a space.

The address is 2021 Shaffer Ave, and the building’s former life as a furniture store means the interior feels open rather than tight. Wide aisles handle carts and strollers without anyone doing an awkward sidestep dance.

Hours run from 10 AM most days, with slightly later closing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday shopping is an option too, which helps for weekend meal planning.

Shoppers from South Bend, Mishawaka, and further out routinely make the trip on purpose. Plenty describe the drive as entirely worth it, especially when combining a grocery run with lunch.

The store stays clean and well organized, so browsing does not turn into a scavenger hunt through clutter. Signage and grouping make sense.

Best approach for a first visit: come with a rough list, then abandon it halfway through. The real value here comes from what gets discovered rather than what was planned, and there is space enough to wander comfortably while doing it.

More Than Food, A Full Cultural Pantry

Not everything on these shelves belongs in a saucepan. Beauty products, household basics, and small kitchen tools share space with the food, reflecting the way traditional Asian markets serve their communities.

Someone hunting a specific brand of kimchi, a particular chili crisp, or a rice cooker sized bag of grain will likely find it. Someone hunting sheet masks or a bamboo steamer might too.

Frozen sections carry dumplings, gyoza, shu mai, and Indian paratha, which makes weeknight cooking dramatically easier. Stock up once and the freezer handles dinner for weeks.

Specialty items get real attention here. Gelled pork blood for bun bo hue, dried shrimp, fermented pastes, and other building blocks of regional dishes sit ready for cooks who know exactly what they need.

For anyone new to this style of cooking, the store works as a low pressure introduction. Pick up one unfamiliar sauce, look up a recipe, and a whole new dinner rotation opens up.

Northern Indiana is not the first place most people picture when imagining a food destination. Asia Market quietly argues otherwise, packing a full grocery, a working kitchen, and a boba counter under one roof in a way few places manage.

Worth a stop, worth a wander, and worth going back.